LOGINEVE'S POV My phone vibrated in my hand as I stood on the terrace, the city stretching out below like a glittering, indifferent sea. The evening breeze carried the faint scent of rain that hadn’t quite arrived yet, cool against my skin. I almost ignored the unknown number. Unknown numbers had become nothing but threats or spam since Lily’s kidnapping. But something... a cold instinct twisting low in my gut... made me answer. “Hello?” A pause. Then his voice, slightly distorted but unmistakable, smooth and possessive, sliding through the line like oil. “Eve.” Alex. My blood turned to ice. I gripped the railing tighter, knuckles going white, heart slamming against my ribs so hard I could feel it in my throat. “How did you get this number?” A soft, obsessive laugh came through, the kind that used to make my skin crawl even before I knew what he was capable of. “I have my ways. Even in here. Prison walls can’t keep me from you, my love. I needed to hear your voice. I’ve been thinki
EVE'S POV The penthouse felt like a gilded cage. Two weeks after the pregnancy confirmation, the walls that had once been our sanctuary now pressed in from every side. Extreme security had become the new normal... biometric locks on every door, armed operators rotating in shifts like silent ghosts, armored SUVs for even the shortest trips, and constant monitoring feeds that beeped softly in the background day and night. Lily, now eleven months old, was thriving despite it all, crawling at full speed and babbling “ma-ma” and “da-da” with pure joy. But I was suffocating. Damon’s overprotectiveness had intensified to a breaking point. It started subtly after the confirmation. He insisted on attending every prenatal appointment with a full security detail. He limited my time in the office to two hours maximum. He added extra guards to the rooftop garden and required pre-approval for any movement outside the penthouse. Last night, when I mentioned wanting to take Lily for a short walk
EVE'S POV The morning of the hospital appointment felt like walking a tightrope stretched between hope and terror. I stood in front of the mirror in our bedroom, hands trembling as I buttoned my blouse over my still-flat stomach. It had been two days since those three pregnancy tests showed two pink lines each. Twins. The word still sent shockwaves through me... pure, overwhelming joy mixed with a deep, bone-chilling fear that refused to loosen its grip. Lily was eleven months old now, crawling everywhere with fierce determination and babbling constant “ma-ma” and “da-da.” She was the bright light in our lives, the reason we had fought so hard through Sophia and Alex’s darkness. And now we were bringing two more little souls into this world... a world where Sophia was still out there somewhere, where Alex’s lawyers were fighting hard for his bail, where extreme security had turned our home into a fortress. Damon came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his c
EVE'S POV The bathroom felt smaller than usual that afternoon, the walls closing in just a little too tight. I sat on the closed toilet lid, staring at the three pregnancy tests lined up on the marble counter like tiny judges waiting to drop their verdict. My hands trembled so badly I had to clasp them together in my lap, knuckles white, just to keep them still. The soft afternoon light filtered through the frosted window, casting hazy patterns on the tiles, but it did nothing to chase away the cold dread and wild, fragile hope twisting around in my chest. It had been months since we got Lily back. Months of slow healing, of turning our home into a fortress with all those extreme security protocols, of learning to breathe again while Sophia stayed a ghost somewhere out there and Alex fought like hell for bail from prison. Lily was eleven months old now... crawling into everything, pulling herself up on furniture with those chubby little hands, babbling “ma-ma” and “da-da” with such
EVE'S POV The penthouse nursery had changed so much in the past eleven months. The walls were now covered with soft pastel murals of city skylines and tiny stars that glowed gently at night. Lily’s crib had been replaced by a big-girl toddler bed with safety rails, though she still preferred crawling into our bed most nights. Toys were scattered across the floor... blocks, soft books, and a little stuffed bunny that had become her favorite. At eleven months old, Lily was a whirlwind of energy: crawling at lightning speed, pulling herself up on furniture, and babbling constant “da-da” and “ma-ma” that made both Damon and me melt every single time. I sat on the soft rug, watching her stack blocks with intense concentration, her chubby little hands working so hard. Her dark curls... a perfect mix of Damon’s and mine... bounced as she laughed at her own success when the tower stayed upright for three whole seconds before toppling. “You’re getting so big,” I whispered, my voice thick w
EVE'S POV The decision to return to my rented office wasn’t easy. Three days after we got Lily back, the penthouse still felt like the safest place in the world. Every corner had been reinforced with new security... biometric locks, constant camera feeds, armed guards rotating shifts like silent shadows. Lily slept in her crib with two monitors and a dedicated operator stationed just outside the nursery door. I hadn’t left her side for more than a few minutes since the rescue. The thought of stepping away, even for a few hours, made my chest tighten with familiar panic. But the project... my project...had been bleeding for too long. The sabotage from Sophia and Alex had gutted most of my progress. Permits stalled, contractors pulled out, funders vanished. If I didn’t fight for it now, it would die completely. And I refused to let them take that from me too. “I need to go in today,” I told Damon over breakfast. Lily was in her bouncer beside us, happily chewing on a teether. “Just
"We don't have to go."Damon was standing in front of the mirror fixing his tie. Again. Third time in five minutes."You're nervous," I said."I'm not—" He stopped. Dropped his hands. "Okay, yeah. I'm nervous.""It's just brunch with your parents.""Sunday brunch. At the club. Where my mother will
Three days.It had been three days of this new arrangement and I was losing my mind.Not in a bad way. In a "I can't stop thinking about him" way. In a "every time he looks at me I remember exactly what he looks like naked" way.We'd fallen into this routine. Work during the day. Pretend to be norm
The words came out before I could stop them.Everyone stopped eating and looked at me."I just mean..." I could feel my face getting hot again. "She's not here. Maybe we could talk about something else."My mother's smile went tight and thin. "Of course, darling. We're just making conversation.""I
Wednesday arrived and I wanted to die.Okay, not actually die. But maybe get hit by a car. Nothing fatal. Just enough to land me in the hospital for a few days so I could miss this dinner.My parents were coming at seven. Damon's parents were coming at seven. All of them. Together. In the penthous







